Latest news with #non-French
Local France
3 days ago
- Politics
- Local France
Analysis: Has France really made it impossible for retirees to get citizenship?
The Local has received an increasing number of reports from retired readers about French citizenship applications being rejected. READ MORE: 'Doesn't seem fair' - British pensioners speak out over apparent change to French citizenship rules In each of the cases reported to The Local, the applicants received a letter stating that they had been rejected because their income comes from foreign sources (non-French pensions), despite fulfilling all other requirements. In previous years, many retirees, whose incomes were composed of foreign pensions and savings, successfully applied for French nationality on the basis of residency. As such, there appears to have been a recent change in the way préfectures approach citizenship applications by retirees, and it may be due to a circulaire (memo) sent out by the interior minister Bruno Retailleau to préfecture staff in May 2025. READ MORE: Why do French ministers love to send 'circulaires'? Has there been a confirmed change? Tracking French citizenship applications is not easy - France also does not publish nationwide figures related to citizenship rejections, making it difficult to tell whether there has been a change in the number of retirees being rejected. Another challenge is that French citizenship applications are first handled at the local préfecture level, and while the law is the same, we know that in practice, there can be quite wide variations between préfectures. There is no official confirmation of a rule change relating to foreign pensions. Advertisement Nevertheless, more and more cases are coming to light of retirees who have had their applications rejected or adjourned since May. One reader of The Local told us that their citizenship interviewer referred to "new rules" being recently brought in. We know that over the past two decades, dozens, if not hundreds, of retirees in France have successfully become French - even if all of their income comes from a pension in their home country. The Local has contacted the interior ministry, as well as individual préfectures with cases of retirees being rejected, to determine whether a different standard has been applied to retirees since May. What happened in May? On May 5th, 2025, interior minister Bruno Retailleau sent out a circulaire (memo) to all préfectures in France on the subject of French citizenship applications. A circulaire cannot change the law, but it can offer 'clarification' for how préfecture staff ought to process citizenship applications. In the third section of the circulaire - titled 'the autonomy of the applicant' - Retailleau instructed staff on what to consider regarding l'insertion professionnelle (professional integration) and le niveau et l'origine des revenues (the amount and origin of income). Retailleau wrote: "You will also, with some exceptions, reject applicants whose income comes mainly from abroad, as this shows they have not completely transferred the centre of their interests to France." Retailleau did not reference any exceptions for retirees, though he did remind préfecture employees not to reject applications with 'insufficient income' if the applicant is ill or disabled. This insistence on French-sourced income would seem - if applied strictly - to make it impossible for people who have retired to France (as opposed to those who worked in France and then retired) to ever gain citizenship. Advertisement So what exactly has this changed? It's always been the case that applications for French nationality based on residency must be able to demonstrate "stable and regular income", as well as one's "integration" into French society. French case law has also made it clear for many years that applicants must demonstrate that France is the "centre of their economic interests". Therefore, it has long been the case that people living in France but working remotely for a foreign company would be highly likely to be refused citizenship. Likewise people who are neither working nor retired have traditionally had a hard time satisfying the income requirement. But préfecture officials were previously told to examine the application "holistically" - as a result, many retirees applying with solely foreign pensions have been able to gain nationality based on residency if they showed a well-rounded application in other areas. Advertisement It seems that some préfectures are now taking more of a 'tick box' approach and rejecting anyone who doesn't fulfil income requirements - even if, as in the case for retirees, it is impossible for them to fulfil the requirement for French income. It's important to stress, however, that decisions are still made on an individual basis. There also remain disparities between different préfectures when it comes to exactly how decisions are made. Other requirements France's immigration law of 2024 changed the language level required for citizenship - from January 1st 2026, applicants will have to demonstrate B2 level French, rather than B1 as is currently the case. Otherwise, the stated requirements to gain French citizenship through residency ( par décret ) remain the same. Applicants for French nationality based on residency must still prove that they have lived in France for five years consecutively before applying (unless they have completed higher education in France). The basic documents requested - proof of address, tax declarations for the past three years, identity documents (passport, birth certificate, marriage/ divorce certificates), and a criminal background check - are still the same. All applicants also have to provide proof of their income - for example payslips/tax returns for those who are working, evidence of a pension or other source of income. READ MORE: New law: What's changing and what's staying the same for French citizenship? The 'assimilation' interview is also still part of the process, but starting in January 2026, a written civics test will be added to assess applicants' "required level of knowledge of French history, culture, and society." If you have applied for French citizenship as a retiree - either recently or in the past, successfully or not, please share your experiences to help us gain a broader picture of the situation.
Local France
03-08-2025
- Climate
- Local France
August weather, summer apps, and back to school: 6 essential articles for life in France
After much of France recently enjoyed cooler temperatures following an intense heatwave in late June and early July, French forecasters have warned that August could bring hotter, drier weather, along with possible heatwaves. It is still early for month-long predictions, and the various weather models do not yet agree on the intensity of the heat and the day it is set to start – here's what the experts predict. High temperatures and possible heatwaves to return in France in August From translation tools, to weather and sea forecasts, and road planners to restaurant recommendations, these apps and websites will help you make the most of your time in France. 14 Essential websites and apps for summer in France Each year, social media posts poke fun at the long French holiday tradition, often comparing it to a lack of vacation time for workers in the US. And there is a prevailing notion that France completely shuts down during the month of August, and all French people spend an entire month away from work. But how true is it? Factcheck: Do French people really take off the entire month of August? The holiday season is in full swing, but September is heading towards us like a slow-moving freight train – bringing with it la rentrée . Already, to the dismay of school-age children the length and breadth of the country, supermarket shelves are dripping with pens and folders, inks and erasers, reminding them that this long spell of relaxation will eventually end and schools will reopen. So, from the practical – stationery, uniforms, packed lunches – to the emotional – parental involvement and help for struggling kids – and the crucial issue of aid for non-French speakers, here's what to expect if your child is starting school in France for the first time on September 1st. Advertisement How to prepare for your child starting at French school One of the stated aims of the EU's new Entry & Exit System is to catch overstayers, especially those who have over-stayed their 90-day allowance. Here's a look at what changes for those who currently travel visa-free to Europe. How will the EU's new EES passport checks affect the 90-day rule? If you move to France, it can be very expensive to ship all your furniture over from abroad, so you may want to consider buying some of it here. Although Ikea is in France for those of you who like flat-pack furniture and a cheeky cinnamon bun, other homeware and furniture suppliers are available. Here are a few, for a range of budgets. Not just Ikea: where you can buy furniture in France
Business Wire
30-07-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Tikehau Capital H1 2025 Results
1 Figures have been rounded for presentation purposes, which in some cases may result in rounding differences. 2 Core FRE correspond to Fee-related Earnings excluding expenses linked to share-based payment transactions (IFRS 2), but for the social charges linked to share-based compensation. 3 Third-party net inflows, excluding Sofidy. International LPs refer to non-French investors. 4 Third-party net inflows. 5 As of 30 June 2025, Tikehau Capital no longer includes Investment Activity AuM in its financial communication. Going forward, AuM will refer exclusively to Asset Management AuM. This change provides greater clarity and focus by centering disclosures exclusively on Asset Management AuM, which is the most relevant metric to reflect the firm's growth strategy in alternative asset management. 6 On 30 July 2025, the auditors issued their report on their review of the interim consolidated financial statements as of 30 June 2025. 7 Selectivity rate presented as total declined deals / total screened deals. 8 Please refer to press release dated 28 January 2025. 9 Please refer to press release dated 4 February 2025. 10 Please refer to press release dated 10 March 2025. 11 Please refer to press release dated 16 June 2025. 12 Please refer to press release dated 20 May 2025. 13 Amounts available for investment at the level of the funds managed by the Group. 14 Third party net new money excluding Sofidy. 15 International investors refer to non-French investors. 16 Third-party net new money. 17 Please refer to press release dated 5 June 2025. 18 Please refer to press release dated 16 June 2025. 19 Including the flagship vehicle, bespoke mandates and side vehicles. 20 Please refer to press release dated 18 February 2025. 21 Please refer to press release dated 7 July 2025. 22 Includes investments in funds managed by Tikehau Capital and co-investments alongside Tikehau Capital Asset Management strategies. 23 Include management fees, subscription fees, arrangement fees & structuring fees as well as incentive fees. 24 Unrealized performance related revenues, share allocated to the listed firm. 25 Excluding the non-cash impact of share-based compensation. 26 Core FRE correspond to Fee-related Earnings excluding expenses linked to share-based payment transactions (IFRS 2), but for the social charges linked to share-based compensation. 27 Gearing = Total financial debt / Shareholders' Equity, Group share. 28 Please refer to press release dated 7 April 2025. 29 As of 30 June 2025, Tikehau Capital no longer includes Investment Activity AuM in its financial communication. Going forward, AuM will refer exclusively to Asset Management AuM. This change provides greater clarity and focus by centering disclosures exclusively on Asset Management AuM, which is the most relevant metric to reflect the firm's growth strategy in alternative asset management. 30 Corresponding to management fees, subscription fees and arrangement fees. 31 Implied fee rates are calculated based on average fee-paying AuM over the last 12 months. 32 Include management fees, subscription fees, arrangement fees & structuring fees as well as incentive fees. 33 Core FRE correspond to Fee-Related Earnings excluding expenses linked to share-based payment transactions (IFRS 2), but for the social charges linked to share-based compensation. 34 Group portfolio revenues are broken down between €73.2m (€27.6m in H1 2024) generated from Tikehau Capital's asset management strategies and €38.0m (€50.4m in H1 2024) from ecosystem and other investments. 35 Include net result from associates and non-recurring items, mainly foreign exchange impacts on financing activities, totaling +€8.5m on a net basis. 36 Gearing = Total financial debt / Shareholders' Equity, Group share.
Irish Examiner
26-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Joe McNamee: Is it time to subsidise Irish hospitality?
Our shared and serious passion for music and film led my daughter and I to The Bear, a truly magnificent TV series (TV being the new 'film') set in a Chicago restaurant with Michelin star aspirations. As a recovering chef, I can confirm its authenticity, at times almost as stressful as actually being back in a slammed kitchen, slaving under a sociopathic bully — it is why some chefs I know can't watch it. Flush with marvellously written characters, we struggle to pick our favourite. We adore transcendently serene pastry chef Marcus and the sweetly naive Fak brothers; we flat out venerate jittery, driven head chef Sydney. Jamie Lee Curtis's monstrous matriarch is nitro-glycerine plonked next to an open furnace; her children, Michael, Natalie and Carmen Berzatto, three differing studies of the impact of her dysfunctional parenting. Every single character, even minor, is fully realised. And then there is 'Cousin' Richie Jerimovich (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), who runs front of house. A loud, boorish and deeply obnoxious character, we spent the first few episodes wishing him serious harm until, gradually, tiny slivers of his humanity and vulnerability began to slip through. But he utterly transformed in our eyes when sent on a training internship to the fictional Ever, 'the world's best restaurant', site of his Damascene culinary conversion. Breaking through his innate cynicism, he comes to understand why high-end restaurants operate as they do and, most of all, learns to appreciate the complexities of service and its fundamental importance in a good restaurant. After that, he could do little wrong in our eyes, even when he does — regularly — do wrong. Over a decade ago, after a major food awards in Dublin, two of Ireland's finest restaurant managers and I wound up in deep conversation about service, the lack of awards for service, wondering whether it related to the marked decline in service standards, from what was always a wildly varying benchmark. Irish restaurant service has only worsened since; good service — the exception rather than rule — is an unexpected pleasure rather than automatic entitlement when dining out. When Patrick Guilbaud first opened his now Michelin two-starred Dublin restaurant, it took him a while to realise most of his non-French waiters, many of them students, viewed their role as a mere staging post en route to a 'real' career. Indeed, working as a waiter/server has rarely been viewed as a profession in this country even though innate Irish sociability makes for a natural-born host. Service is about so much more than ferrying plates to and from the table and it takes time and effort to train even the good ones. Imagine the frustration when they then leave for a 'real job'! For all the advance 'engagement' — online, reviews and so on — a diner's first human interaction with a restaurant is through service. A good first impression is vital; sustaining it throughout the course of an entire meal, equally so. (Take note, all servers who seem to ghost a table once desserts are served.) More worryingly, I see the decline in standards of Irish restaurant service as a canary in the coalmine for the Irish hospitality sector overall. Many businesses operate on a fiscal model that wouldn't last kissing time in other industries, while a dining public, ignorant of the harsh realities of hospitality, only ever registers the rising prices of eating out. When the minimum wage was raised to €13.50 an hour last January, the best restaurateurs acknowledged the additional financial stress on their business models, yet never begrudged their employees the extra 80c an hour. In Dublin, for example, many of the lowest-paid hospitality workers have to commute from far outside the city to afford accommodation — if they can find it. There is one question that gauges the real viability of Irish hospitality like no other: as a waiter/server, will I qualify for a mortgage? (It applies equally to lower-paid kitchen jobs.) The answer is almost inevitably, no. Which begs another question — is it time we start a conversation about subsidising the Irish restaurant sector, as we do with the farming sector? TABLE TALK A recent soiree at The Metropole Hotel to launch its newly designed reception/lobby area and a casual all-day menu sees a venerable old aristocrat of Cork hospitality substantially sharpening its offering in tune with the overall energy sense of energy that has imbued its home, MacCurtain St, in recent times, reminding that it is about so much more than just an annual venue for 'The Jazz'. In further reference to today's main theme, belated congrats to the Market Lane group for their ongoing achievements at the Fáilte Ireland Employer Excellence Awards, voted on anonymously by employees, and, yes, the ML group does number more than a few well-supported professional waiters/servers in their ranks. Vada café in Dublin's Stoneybatter, may cleave to a very familiar formula for what is currently cool in casual dining but more than gets away with it on the back of some tasty food and a genuine commitment to sustainability and zero waste so, additional opening hours to serve dinner on Friday and Saturday evenings could be well worth checking out. TODAY'S SPECIAL Make Hummus, Not War print from Bia Blasta This week's choice is more about food for the mind and soul than the belly, a handsome print from Blasta Books inspired by their latest authors, Izzeddeen Alkarajeh and Eman Aburabi, and the original version of the Free Palestine mural painted next to their Izz Café in Cork City. Available in A4 (€25) and A3 (€38) sizes and shipped anywhere in the world, all profits will be donated to World Central Kitchen. Read More Ireland's best food trucks and street food stalls to try this summer
Local France
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Local France
Who can sign parliamentary petitions in France?
The controversial Loi Duplomb was voted into law in on July 8th, shortly before French MPs went on holiday. It was introduced in response to the 2024 farmers' protests and – among a number of measures to 'simplify' farming administration – it also reopens the door to the use of a controversial pesticide. READ ALSO French petition against return of bee-killing pesticide passes 1 million Two days after the law was passed, a petition demanding its immediate repeal, a review of the conditions under which it was adopted, and a citizen consultation was launched on the National Assembly's website and by July 22nd had passed 1.6 million signatures. Advertisement But can non-French citizens add their signatures to it? Or start their own? The answer to both those questions is: yes, with conditions. The front page of the parliamentary petitions website clearly states: 'Any adult, of French nationality or legally resident in France, may submit or sign a petition on the National Assembly's petitions platform.' So far, so straightforward. But there's an additional requirement. To actually sign or start a petition, would-be signatories who are over the age of 18 must have a France Connect account – which, in turn, requires them to hold a permanent French social security number. READ ALSO What is France Connect and how could it make your life simpler? This step restricts the signing of online French parliamentary petitions to anyone legally resident in France. It also means that people can only sign once. This applies only to parliamentary petitions done via the National Assembly website - more informal local petitions, such as a petition to save your local leisure centre, have their own rules although you will usually be required to provide a French address. What about EU petitions? Similar rules are in place. The European Commissions petitions portal says that any EU citizen, anyone living in an EU country, and any company, organisation or association with its headquarters in an EU country can petition the European Parliament on matters that 'concern one of the EU's policy areas'. You can do this online or by post. If you are starting or signing a petition online, you need to register with the European Parliament Petitions Portal Non-EU citizens living in France cannot vote at any level while people who are EU citizens but are not French can only vote in local or European elections. So signing a petition is one of the few ways that you can make your voice heard in the country of your residence (that and joining a manifestation , of course, anyone can turn up for a demo).
